


Two Peas in an Escape Pod

by Eyyo_Royyo



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, Bonding, Friendship, Gen, Spoilers, Steve Rogers & Thor Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-27 01:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15674958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eyyo_Royyo/pseuds/Eyyo_Royyo
Summary: After the snap and some years fly by, the remaining Avengers fly out into the expanse of space to attempt meeting Thanos. When a bump in the road causes the ships to malfunction and begin to crash, all parties concerned scrambled to the escape pods and launched to safety. How Steve ended up having to 'room' with the God of Thunder is beyond him, but by the end of their time together, he feels the bond they share has grown from their similar roots.Thor and Steve can relate on the fact they each care tremendously about some form of murderous and questionably aligned dude that has a problem staying dead. What a great thing to bond over, right?





	Two Peas in an Escape Pod

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote it cuz I wanted to and felt that the relationship between them had to be made known. I think it makes sense, the two bonding over their rocky relationships with their loved ones, but Marvel is too cowardice to give us our Soft Men uwu(TM)

_You may be thinking, "Oh no, Thor is floating through space in an escape pod with nothing around to offer aid. How could this happen?" Well, sometimes you have to be ejected into the abysmal void of space involuntarily with a convict to get a worthwhile psychiatric session._  
  
  
"So," Thor tried, folding his hands in his lap from his side of the pod.  
"How did you end up here?"  
  
While he is probably as old as one, Steve Rogers was no archaic skeleton left to rot for an innumerable amount of time. Actually, Thor was quite fond of the man, and considered him on par with his Asgardian people. If Rogers can take his wine, he earns the respect of many an Odinson.  
  
"The pod with Rhodey was full."  
Not as enthusiastic as the God of Thunder was hoping for, but he gave his Migardian friend credit all things considered. Why, he was there for the event.  
Why did he ask the question anyway?  
Aesthetic.  
  
_I sound like my brother now, don't I?_  
  
"Ah, yes, our flying friend, Bird Man."  
Thor nodded with his words as he placed a face to the name. Midgardians all looked the same, but he supposed Asgardians would just as well to a mortal.  
  
"It's Falcon. Not Bird Man. And no, Rhodey is War Machine."  
If Steve wasn't thinking of his allies in the other pods drifting off into who knows where, he would have gotten a kick out of Thor's oblivious jokes.  
  
He was less oblivious and more confused. Midgardians placed 'Man' after everything generic and called it a super hero, right? Why can't there be a Bird Man?  
"Is there not a Spider Man? Iron Man? I heard tale of some Super and Batty men too. Why is it not, then, Bird Man or Falcon Man?"  
  
Cap huffed through his nose- you know what I mean- and leaned his shoulders back against the freezing window behind his bench.  
"Not everyone has Man in the name, though I guess I understand your confusion. I guess you havent heard of Mothman either."  
This absolutely erupted a spark in the Asgardian's eye.  
"Mothman??? Like... your fuzzy bug friends kind of moth?? But a man?? Is he an Avenger, too??"  
  
Steve is constantly surprised by Thor's thirst for knowledge and eagerness. To think that someone looking so human could be so clueless on daily human life is way too surreal.  
So his pathetically contained laughter was to be expected, as was the infectious moob grabbing.  
"Oh- oh man, you dont know Mothman? He's a comic book hero!! Well, villain, I suppose..."  
Thor watched with confused interest when Steve calmed down. Was he laughing so hard that he started to cry? Over Mothman? Now Thor deeply wished to read these 'Comix' that he had heard so much about.  
  
"You will have to show me these 'commix' your people seem so engrossed with! I'm sure Loki would have loved them, too! He was always one for theatrics and stories, even as a boy."  
  
That's one way to kill a mood.  
  
"Ah... right... sorry about that, pal."  
Why did Steve feel guilty for that distant look in Thor's eye? He didnt bring up the subject, nor did he try to. Still, he couldn't help but emphasize with the big guy. His love for his brother was obvious, and his determination to prove his name was something Rogers could respect on a personal level.  
His God friend waved off the apology with one of his hands.  
"You have nothing to apologize for, friend. In hindsight I see that you and the Avengers played minimal roles in my brother's life, though I see his was a pivotal one for you all. Nothing you did was what caused his actions- I have Thanos to thank for that."  
You'd think such a ray of sunshine wouldn't speak with such malice, but by his final sentence he was clutching Stormbreaker with his left hand quite firmly.  
To say an angry lightning bolt made Steve nervous was an understatement. For all his life he fought countless entities and battled evil in all and every form. Yet, when Thor descended upon Earth seeking refuge from his banishment, he couldn't help but fear the guy. Doesn't matter how light hearted he was or how gentle his worry could be in the right times.  
When Thor gets pissed, especially these days with his new powers, most of the Avengers feel qualms from it. And Steve knew he wasn't the only one. For the longest time their only concern was Hulk, but as it turns out not even he could stand against Thor from their tales in Sacaar. The fact Thor injured Thanos so grievously- even when Thanos used all six stones against him- is truly terrific.  
Thor is no Hulk, but he most certainly is no Thanos.  
  
"I agree.... Too many good heroes died at his will."  
Bucky and Sam, just for starters. He was lucky to still have Natasha, though.  
"Though... I think your vengeance runs a bit deeper. More personal."  
  
Thor shook off his darker thoughts and followed his answer up with a nod, "Given my brother succumbed to evil at his command, I think my anger is righteous to an extent. Loki was mischievous, but never malicious. He wished for the best for Asgard... despite Odin's neglect."  
  
Steve seriously didn't have enough info on the subject to try and give specific advice. He didnt have a brother destined to stand on the opposite side of the line. While his family was not the best in the world, it was not self destructive and manipulative of itself. He figured most royal families were like this, but never to such an extent.  
  
However...  
  
"... Y'know... I've pondered our situations a bit," an unreadable stare from Thor spurred him to continue, "but I think we are similar. Our hope in the people we love. Our wish to never give up hope for the person that means the most to us." He was going out on a limb for that one, but the other party had no apparent objections to the statement.  
"Bucky has had it rough. We grew up together as children. He always ended up being my bodyguard due to my weak physique. I was a sickly kid before I was given the serum... and he was just looking out for me. We ended up in the military together, though I wasn't exactly the best soldier you could ask for. James- that's his first name- made sure to look after me even as he proved his worth as a unit. He was- and still is- my best friend. Even when he fell from the plane that served to be both of our first 'deaths', we went down together for a common purpose of destroying a terrorist bomb. We both froze in the waters. He was taken to Russia while I was found by the Avengers. Sometimes I wonder how things would have been different if it were the other way around..."  
  
Thor nodded solemnly from the thought. He frequently visited the idea of Loki and he switching birthrights. Would he have become as dastardly as Loki did?  
  
"He lost his arm, and his life in the fall. The Russians revived him and gave him both a new name and a new limb. He worked for them for a time. I believed he was dead, but remembered him fondly as nothing short of my trusted partner. When I eventually found him again, he had suffered amnesia and was locked in a state of mind to do only one thing: kill. This erupted a lot of drama and fighting... I had to pull him out of that mindset three times before the dust settled in the end. Tony found out Bucky was responsible for the death of his parents and wanted him dead. Thus, how the war broke out between Avengers."  
  
This war he spoke of was no new news to Thor. He had caught quips between members from opposite sides referencing it. Did he condone the behavior? Absolutely not. But given Steve's side of the story, he found himself understanding the reasoning behind it all. Honestly, if he were in his shoes with Loki missing an arm and his sanity, he wouldn't be acting too differently. He still doesnt act that differently.  
Still... the way Bruce described it to him on their short trip from a destroyed Asgard helped fully put it into perspective. Steve was defending his dearest friend of things he had no control over. Thor defends Loki against anyone thinking ill of him. They did not know Loki as a child. Thanos changed him. Odin made him this way. He had a long list he could pull from to redirect attention from Loki's natural aura of trouble.  
"I understand you Midgardians a bit more now. When I first heard war broke out amongst my old friends, I was both livid and confused. 'Why would my friends fight one another when greater threats lay on the horizon?' I would ask myself," Steve nodded with a hand raising a bit into the air to call for attention, "I understand your feelings on that, Thor. I do. And when I think about it from your point of view- bigger picture than we bothered with- I agree."  
Thor shifted his legs to heft onto the window sill adjacent to both of their benches.  
"However.... fighting for someone you believe in is not a reason you should apologising for. But neither is avenging the death of one's family. It _is_ what I am doing right now," a trace of anger lit his eye and stiffened his neck, "and I don't think I would change my mind even if it were a friend that brought death to my kin."  
  
That is a serious threat if you ever heard one, and Steve has heard his fair share of threats. He definitely had no plans on angering the Norse God of Thunder, but if situations had been different, he could imagine himself dying at the hands of the guy. He was strong- no doubt. And his allies made him stronger.  
But Thor is just... too powerful for his own good. His title of a God is no understatement.  
"I respect you for that."  
  
Thor met gates with his company again, sitting up straighter so as to disperse his negative thoughts.  
"Well, I respected you first. So I guess it is a mutual respecting."  
That same humor had returned, something both parties probably needed. Thor was finding it hard to read Steve. That's Loki's job anyway. But he was now certain of Steve's intense loyalty. It was refreshing, and reminded him of Heimdall.  
That in itself is something to boast.  
"I had become very close with Bruce in our time from Midgard, and found his strength to be something worth great..."  
He trailed off, trying to think back to the times he had to calm Banner from the planet's insane ideas of parties.  
".... Envy," the word fit the description he was painting, though he doubted he needed to remind Steve of Bruce's great potential, "The entire planet worshipped Hulk, but knew nothing of the man within him. I used a video recording of Romanova to put Hulk to sleep, and we made our way off of Sacaar. I noticed he was different from when I first met him- though in a good way. Even when near my brother, he did not seem entirely out of sorts. He even exchanged greetings with him."  
  
Steve had not heard much of the smaller things from the two's adventures. Bruce was ashamed to speak of it, and Thor really only talked about how he beat Hulk in a fight. He had suspected that the two were keeping a secret, but by the way Thor looked pained in his recountings, he made the choice to lay those doubts aside for the time being. Taking Thor's word for truth never steered anyone wrong before, what would hurt if he did so now?  
"So... your brother was docile toward Bruce?"  
The choice of wording elicited chortles out of Odinson.  
"Docile-" it took some time for him to pay down the fires of giggles in his stomach to repy. But when he did, his radiant smile found its home on his lips once more.  
"Yes, Loki has revealed to me that out of everyone of our friends he finds Bruce to be the most bearable. I prodded him about it at a later date, closer to Thanos' arrival, and he admitted to being fond of Bruce because of the Hulk he was able to control within him. Loki respected him, though I doubt it was reciprocated. I suppose Loki saw himself in Banner, after all."  
Even when brushing the subject of his brother's final demise, Thor never lost his sparkle. The subject of Banner held a special place in his heart that he wished not to challenge until he had secured peace long enough to have a good think.  
"I miss the Revengers dearly. While you had your Captain Team, and Tony had his Iron Team, I made my own team unknowingly. Team Thor! Brethren of Asgard and protector of her people! Blessed with divine powers and great strength!" He had raised his axe into the air at some point, though he couldn't strike his comical pose as he wished because of the low ceiling. It ended up mostly as an awkward raise of the arm as though he were checking if he put on deodorant. (Unfortunately, he did not.)  
"As Brunnhilde and I once names it at night as we drank, anyway. Well, it may have mostly been me. I think Bruce was scared in that moment, as I recall."  
  
Thor's adventures sounded nothing like his own, yet still so similar in a weird Freaky Friday kind of way. Having Bruce thrown into the mix of cosmic beings and legendary weapons nails it to reality. Those things truly did happen and were not stories the Asgardians made up to fill their history books like Earth tended to do.  
"I wish our teams could have fully merged into one for this last fight. I haven't heard anything from the others, so as far as we know Tony, Peter and Strange are all dead. I know you were with the... Guardians?" he paused so he could receive a confirmation from Thor before he would continue, "for a time, and apparently Rocket claims they had split up on account of your arrival..."  
  
"More like Rabbit refused to go with his team and Groot was too stubborn to argue," he was corrected, though the point was glazed over anyway.  
  
"Which... leads me to believe that the other Guardians somehow managed to find our guys. I'm not sure- it is just a hunch- but given how things play out, and the delay in Thanos' arrival in Wakanda... I believe he had been held back for a time by a group much stronger than simply our three allies."  
  
Thor nodded absently. He had made the mistake of letting his eyes wander through the cosmos around them, for now thoughts of his brother and people crammed into every inch of his brain possible.  
When Odin perished, his body dissipated to join the halls of kings in the palace of Vallhala, yet when Loki lost his life, the body remained where it was. This detail had not been lost on Thor, and it has plagued him ever since he agreed to accompany the Guardians. From that moment onward he forced himself not to look back and truly accept the death of his final kin. Accepting your solitude in a cold, unfeeling universe is something no more mortal can withstand. Some days he questions whether he can or not, but given the endless support and respect he holds from all of his peers...  
  
"Thor? You okay?"  
  
Steve always had a gentle voice when talking one-on-one. At least, in Thor's experience. Even though his thoughts roared wildly, the quiet urgings were enough to regain his senses.  
"My apologies. I... became lost in my memories."  
  
Well, if Steve was going to have any chance to truly befriend a God, he may as well try now. He may need it later on, and bonding with the remaining Avengers was certainly high on his to-do list.  
"Wanna talk it out? We have quite a lot of time to use."  
  
Thor's first reaction was to wave off the offer and bring out one of his signature beaming grins. But the more he thought about the possibility of never laying eyes on his brother again, the more his fortitude faltered.  
".... Anything spoken here would remain..."  
"Between you and me."  
  
Odinson dared to take a glance upward. No pitying looks or disappointed eyebrows. Usually when a God shows weakness the people strike out at their only chance. Steve was beyond this- and Thor even knew it. Odin's teachings were merely hammered into his head like a mantra. Instead, he saw concern, and even warmth in the man sharing the whole ten foot living space with him.  
"... Alright. Then I shall tell you of my brother, in exchange for learning of your Bucky."  
Calling James 'his Bucky' was a bit too much, though Rogers did well in concealing his slight embarrassment with the raise of a knee to cross his legs.  
  
"Loki is adopted. He is actually a Dwarf Ice Giant, abandoned by his true father, king of the Jotun. When the Ice Giants and Asgard ceased their war against one another, Odin found Loki in the wastelands of the battle and took him in as his own. He concealed his natural Jotun appearance and told him throughout his life that he was of Asgardian blood and heritage. Despite everything, we were very close as brothers, even when we bickered. He was envious of me, I knew this, but I did my best to try and be a role model for him. Our mother, Frigga, was a strong mage and taught him every bit of sorcery she knew. Those two were inseperable... I, as a child, paid no heed to it, but I now wish I had tried to be closer with Loki when we were still young... As a result of my negligence, Loki went on to ruin my coronation day by allowing Ice Giants back into Asgard to tear the palace apart. It was then he worked to slaughter them all in an attempt to finally please our father. The fight took us to the Bifröst bridge, which we were forced to destroy, and nearly sent us over the edge of our world. I caught Loki with the divine lance Gungnir and father caught hold of my own hand."  
His usual comical tone failed to grace his voice in times like these. He didnt even share everything with Bruce- much less any other Avenger. But the connection he felt with Cap was something he knew stemmed from their undying loyalty to their most precious loved ones.  
"Loki asked father why he was upset with him. He said he did it for Odin, and for Asgard as a whole. Odin denied his approval of Loki one final time before my brother let go of Gungnir and disappeared into the void below. I thought him to be dead... killed by his own hands. Turns out he was found by Thanos, forcefully recruited, and told to take over Earth and find the Space stone with the Mind stone at his disposal. You know how that part went down."  
  
Already, Steve felt greatly guilty for judging the two gods so easily when they first met. They had a lot of history, and that wasn't simply because of their age.  
"Yes... so Thanos truly was behind Loki's terror over New York. Perhaps, Loki enjoyed his war a bit, but..."  
  
"He never would have sought it out or attempted to end my life so badly had he not been forced into it."  
  
The picture was beginning to piece together. Loki's life was one he was never really interested in, but now that he has been told all of the framework for the guy, he is starting to understand just how important his place in their lives were.  
"Fighting him is what brought together the Avengers."  
  
Thor nodded with full agreement, his eyes staring down ruefully upon his hands. His respect for his brother had always been unwavering, no matter how low Loki tended to stoop at times.  
"And he knew it. I spoke with him later on his thoughts on New York... he does not regret a single death he caused. Without the sin he now carries, Thanos would have been much closer to domination than he is right now. Even in our defeat, we stood a better chance together than we would have had we fought him seperately."  
  
Steve closed his eyes and tried to recall images of Thor's kin. They were hazy due to his wish to repress most of what happened, but the striking black hair and pale skin were things he knew he remembered. He tried picturing him as a child- one without the evils laughter and staffs of dark magic. That led to him thinking of Thor as a child. And, well...  
  
Buff children are a bit creepy to think of.  
  
".... Is it too much to ask... to know how Loki died?"  
  
Thor knew the subject would come up. Still, he decided to entertain Steve and began to remove his artificial eye. (This caused very faint discomfort on Steve's part, though he probably took it better than a lot of their allies would have.)  
"We had just escaped Asgard falling to ruins from the sword of an ancient evil being of fire named Surtur. It was the only way to put an end to my sister's insane conquest... though we were simply glad to be alive. I had worried Loki had died on the planet, though he appeared in my doorway soon after our departure. I now know he used the Space stone to evade death, though honestly he probably could have teleported had he wished to. We were a few days in when we stood together on the main deck, overlooking the space beyond. I suggested that we set a course for Midgard and settle there with our remaining people. He asked if such a thing was a good idea- and even though he was referring to himself, I believed that with me by his side, nothing could break apart our forming brotherhood.  
  
"I was wrong. Thanos had our ship in pieces and people slaughtered within minutes. I put up the greatest fight I could, but he made the smart move to take me down before the people. I feared harming my kin to the point that my powers were restricted, just like they were when I first lost dear Mjolnir. I do not remember much from directly after that, but my brother's turn to face Thanos will forever sit sourly upon my tongue. He knew Loki had the Tesseract with the Space stone... and he threatened my life in exchange for it. I was powerless to stop him... I tried my best to stay silent-"  
Thor coughed in an attempt to suppress his oncoming tears. Not this again.  
"It... it wasn't enough. My voice of pain was too much... had I stayed silent, perhaps I could have been killed and Loki escape with the Space stone. Instead, he had to forfeit the treasure in exchange for my life. Before he had handed the Tesseract over, he claimed he had the Hulk as an ally, and called him forth. After that, it is blurry, but I remember my brother shielding me the best he could until the Hulk was deafeated. Thanos gained the Space stone, and when Loki attacked with his daggers, he stopped him using the very same infinity stone and began to choke him. I can... still hear the crunching of bones... I can see his white skin tainted with blue veins and blood in his eyes. He was dead by the time I pulled myself over to him. Thanos left us to be blown to smithereens on the timebomb that was the ship, and I simply awaited death by my brother's side one last time. Before he died- before he gave up the Tesseract, he looked me square in the eye... and told me 'I assure you brother. The sun will shine on us again.' Those words have been my only comfort some days... and what haunts me are the final words I had spat at him while his ears could still hear. I told him he was the worst. Did he take it seriously? I'm not sure... but that action alone has caused much of my self assurance to waiver. If I treated my only family remaining in such a way, how can I be expected to treat you mortals with any better of manners?"  
His eye had been watering for a very long time now, and he now fell into silence aside from the occasional sniff. He rolled his prosthetic around one hand as the other covered his trembling lips. He had so much he wished to be open about with his brother... but he knew they would not share their fates at the end of their lives. Vallhala may await him, but he doubted anyone but Hel would bother accepting him into their grasp. His brother was probably being tormented as he thought these things, and he had the audacity to weep?  
  
Steve remembered Thor's stunning entrance into Wakanda. He had been the turning point of the battle. Had he shown up just a few minutes later, or even not at all, the battle would have been lost. But he and his non human friends had paved a pathway to victory.  
But the way Thor carried himself... he had noticed something was different. And it wasn't just the hair or weapon change.  
  
He could sense blood lust from their godly Avenger. Something he expected to pop up in everyone at least once in a while- but never Thor.  
  
It makes sense to him now.  
"Losing Bucky... even after everything... I understand your pain. I had fought so hard to gain his freedom. Yet Thanos decided his plan to save the universe was better than ours to save ourselves. Bucky is gone. I watched his body drift away on the wind myself... I saw his confusion, his rising panic. He dropped his gun, and I had hoped to catch him... my body didn't move, and it didn't matter. He never hit the floor anyway."  
  
Thor could recall this himself. Visions of Groot and Rocket also came to mind. He deeply mourned for Rocket's loss, but at that point in time, all he felt was rising anger. Truthfully, as much as he adored Midgard and his mortal friends, he could not bring himself to grieve over any of their deaths as greatly as they did. The only Midgardian he considered a close friend, Bruce, had survived the snap. He was given the silk cheek of grace in that moment, though he knew it would not last long.  
  
And it hadn't. Loki did not come back, Brunnhilde never appeared with the scraps of Asgardians she had tried to save... and Bruce had become distant with the loss of Tony.  
  
By now, everyone considered people that were not with them to be dead. It is easier to be proven wrong than it would be to be right.  
"Steve... thank you for listening to me. Hearing that you agree with my sentiments is something I have yet to hear from... anyone, really. Mother did not see the expanse of Loki's fall, though I know she would have welcomed him back into his arms all the same."  
  
"Don't mention it," the ex-soldier across from him waved it off, "You deserve to have someone to talk with. It isn't healthy to bottle things up, you know. I used to tell Bucky everything, from workout anomalies to thoughts from a battle we had partaken in together. It helped me cope with the awful things that went on around us. Europe ain't no Thanos, but it still stunk. If you're so close with Bruce, I think you should tell him, too."  
His final comment had more been light hearted. He emphasized by raising one of his pristine eyebrows.  
  
"Truly?"  
Once again, their gazes met. Albeit, Steve had to physically force himself not to stare at Thor's wounded socket and lack of eye. This was not a secret, but it didn't bother the God of Thunder any more than a normal stare would.  
  
"Yes. Once we find them, anyway."  
  
  
That face of childish excitement finally made a return to Odinson's face when he stood up. Sure, he was hunched over awkwardly from the low ceiling, but that didnt stop him from proudly marching toward the door.  
"Can you close that door for me once I'm ready to go out?"  
  
Steve had a sense of panic the moment Thor's plan clicked into place, until he remembered just how Thor had met the Guardians. Well, it seemed the God didnt need any special suit when traversing the void.  
"Yes- wait. Have you been able to do this the whole time??"  
It isn't like Steve did not enjoy his alone time with Thor- quite the opposite. It's more along the lines of them spending time chatting rather than searching for their team mates.  
  
"Perhaps."  
The snarky grin that passed Thor's features as one door closed and the other opened was something that truly cemented in the Captain's mind the familial bond between Thor and Loki.  
  
He tapped a few buttons to close the outer door before allowing the inner one back open. Wherever Thor had gone to, the craft had begun to move in some direction. He had no idea where they were going, but considering how much experience Thor had in his travels...  
  
Maybe letting go of the wheel for a bit would suit Captain America quite well. Thor certainly needed it, though such a time for that would only come with the death of Thanos.  
And now, more than ever, is when Steve felt a pull at his heart to aid this God of a man in his quest for revenge.  
  
Compared to someone with such a background like this... he felt to be but a supporting cast member in what now felt like a personal vendetta he had stumbled into.  
  
  
At least he can say he will be a part of the winning team this time around.

**Author's Note:**

> Alternate Ending:
> 
> As Thor started to remove his prosthetic, he began recounting the story of how his brother died.  
> As he held the plastic eyeball in his palm, staring down into the blank pupil, he felt a strange sensation overcome him. It was staring back at him, no matter how he moved himself. His words hadhalted as he investigated, drawing Steve's attention.
> 
> "Is it cut? Broke?"
> 
> The small sphere then quickly morphed into a larger, more humanoid form, and Thor soon felt a familiar burn in his stomach.
> 
> "Ooohohoohoohoohoohoooo!"
> 
> A dagger in the gut. How nice. 
> 
>  
> 
> "LOOKI'D!!"
> 
> Of course he would.


End file.
